WASaBubbleButt

What kind of clear liquids? Do any have sugar in them?

Congrats to you! You are making a great decision in getting a sleeve! Soon you'll know those secrets well!

Total Parenteral Nutrition, IV food for those that cannot consume their nutrition orally for whatever reason. Not very yummy. ;o)

Is it a low carb diet?

Welcome to the forum! VSG was a last resort for all of us! None of us could do it without surgery so you are not alone! The pre op diet is hard but just keep remembering, it is just for a short time, it is a few weeks (pre/post op diets) out of your entire life. When head hunger kicks in just keep telling yourself that you can have that food item, just not right this minute. People feel like this is going to last forever and it's not, it's a short time only. That's how I deal with head hunger. Stick around, ask questions, we all know what you are going through.

liquids only! This is a cycle that you need to break. Each time you try to eat solids you are irritating your stoma more and that isn't letting the swelling go down.

I am going to make this a sticky for a bit if that is okay with you. If you prefer I not do that let me know and I'll remove it. Would you mind cross posting this in the "research" section as well? Here is the link: http://verticalsleevetalk.com/research-statistics/ Thanks!

I've never tried them myself but I have seen people post about them on various boards and it's all positive!

Please, keep asking questions. Learn everything, know every surgery type inside and out. It is the only way you can decide what surgery type is best for you.

HAHAHAHA!!! That's about the best description I do believe I have ever read! This happens with banding, rarely with sleeves. Never has happens since I got rid of the horrible band!

It was low and my doc did not necessarily approve. I sooooo did not want to be fat anymore and I was ready. I also knew I would lose my band eventually and I did not want bypass. So I was hoping that being at goal was incentive enough to stay there. Today I know I would not have maintained without my sleeve but I didn't know what else to do.

I can't answer that because I do not know who the other surgeon is you are considering. I do not know their experience, their stats, their rep, so I can't really give you an honest answer. I'm all for going with your gut but on an informed basis. Sit down and write a list of pros and cons. See what you think. As for Nina getting back to you right away, that is how they are. When I had a band on Christmas day I started having severe esophageal spasms. I knew what it was, it was double over kind of pain and it would hit me about 1 time every 3-4 minutes. Although I knew what it was I did not know what to do about it. Dr. Aceves was on a cruise, they were having a family reunion. I called Nina asking what the heck should I do. I did not know Dr. Aceves was on the cruise otherwise I would not have called at all. She called him on the ship and he called Dr. Campos (asst. Surgeon) and asked if he would meet me at the hospital to do an unfill. Dr. Campos said of course. I didn't follow through with it until the next day, I was not going to mess up everyone's family plans but my point is that really is how the staff are. When I was having such horrible band problems Dr. Aceves had me come to Mexicali on a day when he didn't have many surgeries. He spent four solid hours with me, one on one doing every test under the sun. Four barium swallows (pouch obstructed, pouch opened, after drinking ice Water, etc.), an upper endo, xrays, the works. Know what he charged me? Nothing. He got the hospital to cut their fees to $25.00. Yes, the office really is that way all the time. They are there for you before, during, and after surgery. I still call Gaby, their psychologist with questions periodically. (Body Dysmorphia issues.) You have to figure out what you require from your surgeon and their staff. You have to know what you need from them and if they will provide and then you have to look at skill, experience, stats, and your comfort level. Not everyone is cool with going to MX and that's fine. You go where you feel you will get everything you require from a surgeon.

I could have also had surgery then appeal and be reimbursed but you know, in my particular state there just aren't any surgeons that I would have preferred. Not all states are like mine, most states are not. If the better surgeon was here, I would have stayed here but my state is not typical for WLS surgeons.

My insurance would have covered my band and my revision to a sleeve. I was not willing to do the 6 month diet, etc., so I went to Dr. Aceves for my band. When it came to my sleeve it was a bit different. I was *very* ill and really couldn't wait any longer to get the band out. I did not have time to jump through hoops to get ins approval for a revision. They actually wanted me to do a six month diet and I was at goal! I just did not tolerate a band, it was a horror. I could have had the surgery done in my state but my state doesn't have a single revision surgeon I trusted. We are not one of the luckier states when it comes to revision doctors and not just anyone can do a revision. They are harder to do, carry triple the risk for leaks, bleeding, and perforation and it plain takes more skill than doing a straight sleeve. So I opted for self pay to Dr. Aceves. So I really am one that ins would have paid for my surgery in the US but I opted for Aceves and the above is why. How many has your local surgeon done? How many sleeves and how many bypass?

You are doing it the right way. Studies show that doing exercise 3 times a day for 20 minutes is more beneficial than 1 hour at a time. You need to break a sweat, once you do you are seriously burning calories.

No, soy does not have a lot of hormones in it. You'd have to eat the stuff by the truck load before it would cause a problem. I asked my NUT about that and she was very clear, it's not a problem unless you eat an all tofu diet.

Nahhh, the difference between a 32 and a 34 bougie is about 1/2 of a millimeter. About the thickness of your pinkie fingernail.

So this morning I made a Protein shake since I've been low on protein intake lately. I was looking in my frig (think "grazing mode") and I saw this head of Romaine lettuce I got yesterday. I was thinking Mmmmmm, I have a great head of lettuce, cheese, broccoli, and other yummies, I could make a salad instead! I started laughing at myself. You know, before surgery that stuff would have sat in the frig until it went bad and then I would have pitched it in favor of fast food, or some other gross, greasy, nasty, no-nutrition kind of food. It just got me to thinking about the changes in my thinking since WLS. I have made a complete 180 in my thinking. I used to eat salad right before the PASTA! Now I look forward to the salad and generally skip the Pasta. I go to several different grocery stores according to produce. One has great Romaine lettuce (big outside leaves, not all the hard white crunchy parts I wanted when I was banded or bad things would happen), another has great Chyote selections, another has the best tomatoes for Pico de Gullo. I actually go to four different grocery stores for PRODUCE! That is not ME! This person buying up produce is a person I do not know. I walk into a fast food place and it stinks. I used to live there! I look in my frig and knowing I can only eat a small quantity I can't decide which veggies I want the most. Who is this person? I'm not really sure what happened. I used to turn my nose up to most of what I eat today. I didn't even know what pinto Beans or lentils were until after surgery, not kidding. For the first time in my life I crave the good stuff but I'm not 100% sure how that happened. I do believe habits are learned and we learn to like garbage food, we can learn to like the good stuff. That is part of it. But it's more, I don't just like the good stuff today, I crave it. I prefer it over the bad stuff. Bad stuff meaning trans fats, etc. I used to look at shopping carts of skinny people in the grocery store and see all this produce and stuff that did not look good. I wondered if it was really worth it, life is too short to eat like a rabbit. Today I *am* that person. I eat like a rabbit in quantity too! Do you realize that my Shih Tzu eats more than I do? Or, she can eat more than I can. In the beginning that bothered me. I wanted my quantity back. Today I don't give a rip. I eat when I'm hungry and I don't usually push it. Oh, I still have my moments when I am eating something I really like and I want more just because it tastes good but for the most part I'm over it. I think if I had my stomach back I'd be back to old behaviors in quantity again but I'm totally cool with not being able to eat like a heifer anymore. This morning's grazing behaviors just got me to wondering how this happened. How was this produce-buying, anti-fast food person created? I have no will power, I have no self discipline, where did it come from? Thoughts? Anyone?

Sorry, I didn't mean to imply that you did suggest a lawyer. I was referring to the person I wrote of earlier that did spend $750 to get an ins co to pay for something that is specifically excluded. By all means, the OP should go through the appeal process, I just didn't want her getting her hopes up too much. (

I think you'll find that eggs and bread are overly filling. Uncomfortably full. I don't know what it is about sleeves and eggs, it's not that people do not tolerate them they are just overly filling.

When it comes to overeating I think it is the same as with a band. If I overate with a band I'd hurl. If I overeat with a sleeve I hurl. Full is full and if you push the limits it is not pretty. This is one of the head issues we all have to work on after surgery. We like food, we like to eat, we like the taste, the texture, we even like a big huge mouthful of food. This is one area that no surgery type fixes. That is a head issue we all have to work on. One suggestion, if food is sitting in front of you, you are going to pick at it and continue eating. Take a very small portion and put the rest up. Put it in the frig, out of sight/out of mind. Welcome to the world of banding. ( That is one of many things I hated about the band. It is so .. fickle. The only thing I have noticed about my sleeve is that if I drink ice cold Water before I eat I can eat about half of what I would otherwise. Otherwise my restriction is the same all the time. You *can* drink fluids with meals it is a matter of you shouldn't. It's kinda like you *can* jump off a cliff but it doesn't mean you *should* jump off a cliff. ;o))))))) The banded pouch is not all that forgiving when it comes to stretching. That is not a wise thing to do. No, it is not wise to eat and drink at the same time with a sleeve. It's funny how much more information that is quite negative has come out just in the last year. Well, keep in mind that you can eat around any surgery type. Restriction alone isn't for everyone, some people need the malabsorption factor. If you think you can change your eating habits then a sleeve is great but I would stop and ask yourself if you have been able to do it with the band? I'm referring to when you do have good restriction. Do you keep pushing it and eating more? Or are you able to say, "I am full, it's time to stop"? If you can't control eating with restriction alone you might do well with malabsorption. For quantity eaters I would never suggest bypass. Once you stretch your pouch and stoma you are done, there is no fix for that. That is why bypass has such a high failure rate. DS is a better option IMHO. This is something only you can determine. Does restriction alone prevent you from overeating or is that something that isn't working for you? A sleeve is like a band that actually works. Restriction is pretty much the same all the time. No major fluctuations all the time. It's much easier than banding. But it is still merely a restrictive only procedure. Maybe you are one that needs to have restriction and malabsorption? I consider myself MORE than lucky and I do mean "lucky" that I can do it with restriction alone. It's not by effort on my part, it is that I am lucky! ;o) Not everyone is as lucky as I am and they need just a bit more than restriction. I know Elisabeth is on line right now and I'm hoping she's reading and responding to this as I type! ;o) I doubt it. Bands don't have great success rates. They are pretty lousy to be honest. This is something only you can decide. Can you do it with restriction alone? If so a sleeve is uber fantastic! If restriction is not enough DS is uber fantastic. The sleeved DS stomach is far more forgiving than the bypassed pouch. Think long and hard, study EVERY WLS type, know it all, understand everything, make a very informed choice. Good luck to you!

Do you ever see people writing things and they don't see it but others can, they just can't give up food. They are smack in the middle of the "fat mentality" and they are still looking for reasons to justify more food? I used to do it before surgery, "I deserve this 'cake' because my boss was a butt head today." Or, "I don't feel well, I'm sick so it is okay to cheat." I see the same thing with, "If I do not eat at least 1500 calories a day I will not lose." Those are the same people losing 1# a month. The head stuff is the hardest part of WLS.

Is it mixed with water? If so, it should be. I thought all Nectars from Syntrax were okay for clears but I might be wrong.

I'm not suggesting she shouldn't appeal it but I do tend to disagree with what you wrote earlier: If WLS is excluded they do not usually pick up a percentage of it. It's like having auto insurance and when there is a fire in your home wanting your auto insurance to pay for the house fire. If you don't have home owners ins then auto ins isn't going to cover it. If you have major medical and no WLS benefits then MM isn't going to cover WLS. It's not a practice I agree with in the least but that is how they look at it. It's a stupid practice IMHO on the part of Ins Co's. I would just hate to see someone continue to gain weight and spend money on lawyers when that money and time might be better spent focusing on self pay.

I see and appreciate where you are coming from but that wasn't really the question. ;o) What would you prefer? Wealthy and fat or poor and thin?